A POPULAR church warden who is Prince Philip’s private librarian has been honoured with a damehood in the Queen’s birthday list.
Anne Griffiths from St Mark’s Square, Primrose Hill, a widow who has been a warden at St Mark’s Church for over 10 years, was made a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
The award is a special honour bestowed by the Queen on people who work for the Royal Family. Ms Griffiths, in her sixties, has been the main archivist and librarian to the Duke of Edinburgh for a number of years. The part-time job based at Buckingham Palace involves organising the Duke of Edinburgh’s private and public papers, helping organisations who request information on him and keeping in order the many books and publications on his life.
Ms Griffiths, who has never publicly discussed her work for the Royal Family, was unavailable for comment this week. Friends describe her as an intensely private woman and a popular church warden.
Anne Swain, a former councillor and fellow parishioner from Primrose Hill, said: “She has always struck me as a very private person. We all know about her work with the Royal Family but it is not something that we quiz her about.”
Reverend Peter Baker, vicar of St Mark’s Church, said he was delighted by the news. The reverend, who announced Ms Griffith’s honour in his sermon on Sunday and organised a party for the new Dame after the service, said: “She was her typically modest, overwhelmed self.
“One of her main tasks has been to care for the fabric of the church - not always an easy job. She is a very popular church warden, much loved and respected by everyone. She has a great sense of care for people and for the church.”
Royal Free Hospital doctor Carol Black has been honoured in the Queen’s birthday list with a damehood. The title is just another feather in her cap. She originally studied history at university, then took a medical social work diploma. From there she went on to study medicine, qualifying as a doctor.
She became a professor in 1994 – her work on rheumatology at the Royal Free made the Hampstead unit the leading centre for research into the condition – and is currently president of the Royal College of Physicians.
She said: “I am delighted to receive this honour, not just personally but because it truly reflects the part of the Royal College of Physicians in improving the health and medical care of people in this country.”
In 2002, Dame Carol, who lives in Hampstead and lists renovating houses as among her interests, was awarded the CBE.
Professor Roderick Floud, who lives in Savernake Road, Gospel Oak, was knighted in the birthday honours list. The economic historian, who teaches at London Metropolitan University in Holloway, was honoured for his work with students from disadvantaged backgrounds and for promoting part-time learning.
Professor Floud, a long-standing member of Hampstead and Highgate Labour Party, said: “I am pleased the work my colleagues and I have done at the university has been recognised.”
The award of an OBE to fashion writer and author Suzy Menkes, who lives in Gloucester Crescent, Camden Town, came as part of a double triumph. For at the Ministry of Culture in Paris today (Thursday) she will become a Chevalier of the Legion D’Honneur.
She said: “It’s jolly nice to have it along with the OBE.”
The teacher in charge at Coram Fields Sure Start centre – an early learning unit run by the Coram Family child charity and Camden Council – has been made an OBE. Bernadette Duffy has run the Thomas Coram Centre in Bloomsbury since it opened seven years ago.